WASTE AND RECYCLING MANAGEMENT
The Infrastructure Services Department provides commercial and residential curbside waste bin collection throughout the year and also oversees the municipal landfill site.
As of January 1, 2025, Cochrane’s residential recycling program will be managed by Circular Materials, a national not-for-profit organization that is committed to building an efficient and effective recycling system in Ontario. Please see Circular Materials’ Questions and Answers document here or visit www.circularmaterials.ca/resident-provinces/ontario/ for more information on the Provincial changes to recycling
Waste Program
We collect and handle household waste for residents of the Town of Cochrane and operate the municipal landfill, the Fournier Landfill Site. We provide weekly collection for waste and GFL collects recycling materials. Each resident has a green bin for household waste and a larger blue bin for recyclables. You can find the garbage collection bylaw and waste/recycling map below.
Statutory Pick Ups
Please check the local newspaper, our website or Facebook page, or simply contact the department for updates on statutory holidays.
Acceptable Recyclables
Download a copy of the town’s fact sheet on the benefits of recycling and why it’s important for the whole community.
Blue Box Program
Your Blue Box lets you dispose of household residential recycling products. Recycling prevents excess materials from going to the landfill, prolonging the life of the landfill and helping protect the environment. It requires far less energy to recycle and reuse, than using raw materials to make something new.
What happens to your Blue Box materials?
A recycling truck empties your blue box and takes your recyclables to a special “recovery” facility. At the “recovery” facility, both people and machines sort through the recyclable materials.
Once the materials have been separated, they are bundled and shipped to manufacturing companies around the world that reprocess the recyclable material to make many kinds of new products.
Blue Box Transition
From July 2023 to the end of December 2025, all municipalities in Ontario will transition their blue box program to a new collection model. Under the new model, the companies that produce blue box materials will be required to fully fund and operate the recycling system.
In Cochrane, the transition to a new blue box collector will occur on January 1, 2025.
As of January 1, 2025 for all recycling collection inquiries including replacement bins, missed collections, please contact GFL’s customer service:
- c32recycling@gflenv.com
- 1-866-553-4352
If there is a complaint regarding service that has not been addressed by GFL, or questions regarding Ontario’s blue box transition, these can be escalated to Circular Materials at customerservice@circularmaterials.ca or 1-877-667-2626.
- What This Means for You Right Now:
No Collection Changes Yet: The Town of Cochrane transition kicks off on January 1, 2025. Curbside recycling schedules for residents remain the same, and you recycle the same materials as before. - GFL will be adding a sticker to your curbside recycling cart. This sticker is from Circular Materials, the new administrator of Cochran’s recycling program.
Moving Forward:
In 2026, there will be two new enhancements to the blue box program, including:
- Ontarians will be able to recycle more types of materials and this list of materials will be the same across Ontario for the first time.
- There will be free blue box collection for schools (public and private that teach Kindergarten to Grade 12), non-profit retirement and long-term care homes, and multi-residential properties (e.g., apartments and condos)
Resources
Blue Box Regulation
Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act
Strategy for a Waste Free Ontario: Building the Circular Economy
Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority
Circular Materials Website
Circular Materials – Cochrane Location
